Looking

-Shelia Pepe

-Shelia Hicks

-Judith Scott

-Joe Fief
-Tom Nozkowski
-Duchamp
-Danielle Myselic
-Zylar jane
-Cheney Thompson
-Rosemary Trockle

Tied loose ends.

        
            I finished some of pieces I've been working on for the last couple weeks. Now I’m in the process of cropping, editing, and reducing photos of them to images and sketches. I built six 12 by 12 stretchers the other day, so I can get started on painting from the photos. I'm still debating on the fabric I want to stretch. I have some linen, but my favorite thing about the first painting (the one of the paper painting) is that he's related to the others not just in the image but because of their nontraditional material. However, the pin-striped fabric I used received some critique. The nature of the pin-stripes could be a cheap way of elevating the painting over the original piece. This wasn't my intent, but I'm trying to be more aware of the implications that each type of fabric of design might have on the viewers read. Not using patterned fabric just for the sake of being nontraditional but using it in a specific way to inform the content of the piece. I'm excited about the changes that have been made to the yarn ready-made pieces. I’m thinking the space and composition will be really fun to translate into paint.

            I finished the string painting for the Chance show. I only finished the one. I felt the other wasn't clean enough for a show. To finish this I was focused on the idea of chance in decision making. However, Chance and decision are to opposite ideas. I don't really believe there is such a thing as pure chance in art making. Even the things that attempt an organic happening are usually in some way manipulated by the artist. Still, I tried to let go of all this and let random occurrences come in to play.

             I was working with six spools of yarn and string. They were randomly places around my studio, and this placement would change every time I used one or the other. I would roll a die. Say the die landed on four, I would start counting where ever my gaze landed and count clockwise to four and that would be the color I used. My decisions about direction, composition, or amount time with that particular string were quick. I had to work in a rhythmic motion because I was stretching the yarn from one side of the 3 foot canvas to the other. It was about this intuitive gesture or natural movement of the body. It’s just tension that holds the piece together; another way chance dictated my actions was as I got further along in the process the nails became really loaded with yarn. Often one would slip off and cause that entire piece to pop off. Some of the thinner string would break off randomly and I would leave it when it did so. When anyone came into my studio I let them roll the die and choose the string, again, to limit my decisions. Once I got to a place I was comfortable with, I called in finished and walked away. This piece is probably something I’ll go back into again, but for its purpose now it’s complete.

Pics...

For Chance show

This is the very beginings I've my newest piece. It's on the wall now but will most likely be a hanging installation when its finished. It's about five feet long now and I'm planning on it being fifteen plus by the time its done.

Shelia

These are some amazing installations from Sheila Hicks. I'm working on some similar ideas and shapes, but I want to use found materials like old clothes. I've been  dying some old tee-shirts, cutting them into strips and crocheting them. The piece I have now has about a three foot diameter, but these inspire me to make them epic.

Weeks in

I had a good critique with Marc yesterday. I have been wrestling with the idea of painting each of the random assemblage pieces I've been working on, so we talked about the opportunities and options in that. He thought that the painting of the paper and cheese cloth piece was successful, because it made the viewer reconsider the function of each piece and the relationship between them. I'm still considering the different ways to display the two together to bring futher questions to their relationship. The pin-stripe suit fabric that I chose to stretch it with is its key success. It relates the two with a material interest but in a peculiar way, and by doing so, breaks down the simplicity of the realistic rendering.
We discussed the importance of the act of painting in understanding the assembled pieces. His thoughts were that photography might be a means to see the work differently as well. I think the layer of separation that might bring could be interesting. Using photos to see the work formally, to crop, or alter in some way, and then to paint from the photo rather then the prop. That, I think, will help my issues with the pair being redundant or quick.
More crits this week. I'm excited to get feedback from peers.

So Vanilla...

       I'm concerned with the social content of my work. I'm socially analytical, all day long. But, I feel like I get in the studio and all that is not applicable any more. I wish I made art that laid the groundwork of social change, but I just wrap things in yarn. No revolt here. I know significance can't be forced, and I'm not interested in claiming that something is there when its not. Can you just have subconscious concerns and then make work and hope that the two manifest through each other? Even the material ties that my work has with Feminist history seems shallow because it only comments on the history, or only comments on art. I just want to make smart work. I want to make something that's relevant. I've had one to one crits with the wonderfully wise teachers in my life and they have assured me something is there. As long as we're apart of this human experience the things we create will have some social context, right? I guess sometimes you have to look harder to find it. I got to stop being so Vanilla....

            I haven't started anything new this week. I haven't finished anything either. I've just been bouncing around. Yesterday, I was in my studio for about six hours. I think I worked on five different pieces. I started knitting the other day. Mainly making weird little mis-match headpieces and a sweatband. Maybe it I'll make some art eventually. Knitting is so incredibly time consuming.